Romans 1:8-13

One of my favorite views in Cape Breton is from a highway look-off on Kelly's Mountain. It's called St. Ann's Look Off. It's an absolutely spectacular location. It's almost at the top of the western side of the mountain and from there to the north you can see the Atlantic Ocean and the mountain range that goes along the ocean. To the south you can see beautiful St. Ann's Bay. And to the west you can see Murray Mountain and the great sandbar that separates St. Ann's Bay from the ocean—and the narrow opening at the end of the sandbar that let's the ocean into St. Ann's Bay. It's incredibly beautiful. Whenever we pass there on a nice day and we have time, we stop, enjoy the view and take a few pictures.

The only problem with the look-off is that it's right off the Trans Canada Highway. The speed limit there is 65 miles per hour and just before the look off there's a turn as you're coming down from the top of the mountain. Trucks and cars blast by at great speed. When we were there two years ago we heard this big truck barreling down the mountain. It was a huge tractor trailer truck and the trailer had open slots on its side. It came around the curve and zipped by us probably going 65 miles per hour or even a little faster. As it went past, we could not believe the stink that came from it. The truck was carrying some sort of rotten fish—at least that's what it smelled like! (That's probably why the driver was going so fast—he didn't want the stink to catch up to him.) What we couldn't believe was how the stink stayed in the air after the truck was gone. If you had told me that a speeding truck could stink up an area like that and that the stink would stay, and stay—I would have found it hard to believe. It seemed all out of proportion. If the truck had crashed there and the trailer of rotten fish was still there—I could have understood the stink. But the trailer was gone and the stink was still there. Marg and I had to get in the car and leave. It was that bad. Our stop was supposed to be a pleasant and delightful time—but it as ruined by that trailer.

Some professing Christians are like that. The other night P. was telling us about her small group and how one person almost single handedly ruined it. He was very rude and insulting to everyone. He was so arrogant that whenever he spoke all he did was talk down to the whole group. It put a damper on the whole evening. P. was afraid that people would stop coming to her small group because of how he behaved. It was like he single-handedly ruined the whole thing.

But sometimes it's not just one person who is a negative influence on a church meeting. In 1 Corinthians 11:17–19 the apostle Paul rebuked some of the Corinthian Christians for the way they acted in their gatherings. He said,

"In the following directives
I have no praise for you,
for your meetings
do more harm than good.
In the first place,
I hear that when you come together as a church,
there are divisions among you,
and to some extent I believe it."

He continued in verse 22,

"do you despise the church of God
and humiliate those who have nothing?
What shall I say to you?
Shall I praise you for this?
Certainly not!"

Paul was horrified at how they acted and went on to tell them that God had punished some of them for how they acted. Paul insisted that such divisions should not be. He told them that their meetings were designed to be helpful to them.

Indeed, the great truth we see from our text is that

our times together as Christians are to be times of blessing.

In verse 11 of our text Paul wrote,

"I long to see you
so that I may impart to you
some spiritual gift to make you strong
— that is, that you and I may be
mutually encouraged by each other's faith."

Paul wanted to see them that he might be a means of blessing to them and that they might be a means of blessing to him.

Christian fellowship is designed to be a means of grace. We Christians are to be a blessing to each other when we meet together. One of the main reasons we are given spiritual gifts is so that we can build each other up and strengthen each other's faith. As the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:7,

"Now to each one
the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for the common good."

In 1 Peter 4:10 Peter wrote,

"Each one should use
whatever gift he has received to serve others,
faithfully administering God's grace
in its various forms."

We see the same theme in Hebrews 10:24–25. The apostle wrote,

"And let us consider
how we may spur one another
on toward love and good deeds.
Let us not give up meeting together,
as some are in the habit of doing,
but let us encourage one another—
and all the more
as you see the Day approaching."

The thought is that we are to put much thought into how we may be a blessing to others when we come together. Christian fellowship a great means of grace. God designed it so that Christians would encourage and strengthen one another. As Solomon wrote in Proverbs 27:17,

"As iron sharpens iron,
so one man sharpens another."

Paul's words in Romans 1 can be very helpful to us because they show us some of the things that Paul did and hoped to do as he looked forward to seeing the Roman Christians. If we follow his example it would go a long way to improving our fellowship and making it like God intended.

The main thing we should note here is that

everything that Paul wrote showed the Roman Christians that he appreciated them.

We see three different ways he did that. First, he gave thanks to God for them. Second, he told them that he wanted to help them. Third, he told them that he wanted to receive help from them.

Let's consider each of these.

First, consider that Paul gave thanks to God for them.

In verse 8 Paul wrote,

"First, I thank my God
through Jesus Christ for all of you,
because your faith
is being reported all over the world."

Now this is important. Paul knew that there were some very good things about the Christians at Rome and he began by telling them that he thanked God for them and some of the good qualities that they possessed. He prayed for them constantly. (end of verse 9)

So I ask you, do you thank God for the Christians around you? Do you do that continually?

It's easy to be self-centered and self-absorbed. It's easy to look down on other Christians and forget the vital connection that exists between them and you. We all know that Christians and Christian churches are a mixed bag. We see that in Christ's messages to the seven churches in Revelation 2 & 3. In most of the churches there were lots of things to criticize. Some of them were a mess. Indeed, we know that when Paul began his letter to the Galatians he didn't begin with thanksgiving—because they were departing from the faith and their very character as Christians was at stake. But nevertheless, Paul still called them 'brothers' and had good hopes for them.

You Christians should be thanking God for the Christians that He has brought you into contact with. Don't neglect to do this. No matter how high your own attainments in Christianity are you are to be praying for other Christians and thanking God for them.

Every Christian has faith. Every Christian has at least one of the gifts of the Spirit. Every Christian has done some very good things. There are things that you can praise God for regarding His graces and favor in them. Every other Christian is part of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12) and is important for your spiritual well-being.

What the apostle Paul thanked God for was the fact that the faith of the Romans was being reported all over the world. Why would this be? On one hand it would have been newsworthy among the Christians churches to know that there was a congregation at Rome. But since Paul specifically mentions the fact that it was their 'faith' that was being reported, it seems that the faith of the Romans was a faith that had lead to courageous actions. It seems likely that the Roman Christians were facing great opposition. In Romans 16:20 Paul told them that God would soon crush Satan under their feet. So I suspect that what was being reported was that the Roman Christians stood up to the wickedness and debauchery that existed in Rome. Again, near the conclusion of his letter to the Romans Paul wrote, (Romans 16:19)

"Everyone has heard about your obedience,
so I am full of joy over you;"

Thus it seems that the faith of the Roman Christians was like the faith of the apostle's that we read about in Acts 4 and 5. Even though the apostle's were ordered not to teach or preach in the name of Jesus, they resisted the orders of the authorities. They obeyed Jesus Christ rather than men and kept spreading the gospel and obeying it.

Paul knew about their faith and obedience and was filled with joy, not only because they had proved faithful, but because their example was an inspiration to all the other churches. That was music to Paul's ears. More than anything else He wanted Jesus Christ to be known and honored.

As a result of this Paul thanked God for the Roman Christians. His doing so told them how valuable they were to him, how much he appreciated them. John Calvin says of Paul's thanksgiving.

"We should… accustom ourselves to such forms of expression as may ever rouse us more keenly to acknowledge God as the bestower of all good things, and to stir up other at the same time to a similar attitude."

When you know that someone is giving God thanks for you it ties you to them. You know that they love and appreciate you. It strengthens Christian fellowship.

The second thing that shows how much Paul appreciated the Christians at Rome was the fact that

he wanted to help them.

In verse 11 Paul wrote,

"I long to see you
so that I may impart to you
some spiritual gift to make you strong…"

We're not sure what kind of gift that Paul hoped to impart to the Roman Christians. Some commentators think that Paul was thinking in general terms and didn't have a specific blessing in mind. But others see it as a specific blessing that had to do with his purpose in writing his letter. Schreiner quotes Fee and says,

"the gift mentioned here relates directly to the purpose of the Roman letter. The Roman Christians need to understand the Pauline gospel, which proclaims the unity of Jews and Gentiles in Christ. By grasping the union of Jews and Gentiles in Christ the Roman community would dissolve the divisions plaguing them."

It could be that Paul wanted to bless them in the sense of uniting them more in Christ. But it doesn't matter either way. Knowing that someone wants to help you is a great experience, one that binds you to that person. You know they love you and so you love them.

When we first moved to the north country, we had a wonderful neighbor. He was absolutely fantastic. Some of you will remember Ralph Moore. He was an old gentleman when we knew him and whenever we saw him around our house, we knew he was there to do something for us. He'd come to our door in the spring and offer to plow up our garden. Other times he would be there to give us a gardening utensil. I remember one day he showed up right after he had plowed up our garden and asked me if I wanted a hoe. I told him yes and went in to ask Marg what a hoe was. I knew it was a gardening thing but wasn't sure which one it was. Sometimes he'd knock on our door and if we thought that he had nothing for us because he had nothing with him—we were wrong. Those were the times when he would say to us,

"I'm going to bring you some corn for lunch. But I didn't want to pick it before you were ready to eat. What time are you having lunch? I'll pick it and bring it to you then."

That's the type of man he was. He wouldn't want to give you corn that he had picked a half hour ago, because that wouldn't be fresh enough. He wanted to give it to you right off the stalk, when you were ready to drop it in boiling water.

When someone is always trying to help you, you know that they care for you and that binds you to them.

So I ask you—are you that kind of person? Are you always looking to do things for other people? Are you always trying to help them? You should be. If we want our congregation to be one that is healthy we need to be willing, as Paul wrote in Galatians 6:2,

"Carry each other's burdens,
and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

The third thing that Paul told the Roman Christians that showed that he appreciated them was the fact that

he wanted to be encouraged by their faith.

In verse 11 Paul wrote,

"I long to see you
so that I may impart to you
some spiritual gift to make you strong
— that is, that you and I may be
mutually encouraged by each other's faith."

Paul held the Roman Christians in such high regard that he expected to be encouraged and have his faith strengthened from them. He knew that he could encourage others in the faith and he also recognized that others could benefit him. Again, this shows us the value of Christian fellowship. Thomas R. Schreiner writes, (Romans, p. 52)

"What inspires and fortifies other believers is when they perceive faith in other Christians. Seeing other believers trust God in the course of everyday life reminds us that God is indeed faithful and encourages us to trust him as well."

But there's a great lesson here as well. It is this:

you can profit from Christians that haven't attained what you have.

None of the Christians at Rome were the equal of Paul. Yet Paul told them that he knew he was going to benefit from them. John Calvin notes how modest Paul is here in expressing what he feels,

"by not refusing to seek strengthening from inexperienced beginners."

Calvin continues,

"there is none so void of gifts in the Church of Christ who cannot in some measure contribute to our spiritual progress."

This is a lesson that we all need to take to heart. Pride and ill will often make it so that we close our eyes to the blessings that God sends our way through other believers. But if we only opened our eyes, we would derive much benefit—even from those we might think could be no benefit to us.

Let me illustrate, many years ago, at one of the very first Bible Studies that I led at the prison, I learned a lesson that I never forgot. I had everyone read a verse of the Scripture text we were going to study. But I knew that some of them might not know how to read or might be uncomfortable reading in front of other people, so I said that if anyone didn't want to read a verse, they could just say, "Pass", and we'd go on to the next person. There was one older gentleman who said, 'Pass' when it was his turn. During the Bible Study he didn't contribute anything. He never said a word. But when we had a joint prayer time near the end of the Bible Study time, he prayed a little prayer. I still remember it. He prayed and thanked God for providing a roof over their heads and for food to eat.

I was amazed. I wasn't expecting that at all. I never anticipated that an inmate would thank God for a prison roof over his head.

So I ask you, are you seeking to profit from other Christians, even ones that might be below you in spiritual attainments? Don't despise them. Rather view them as people you can learn a great deal from.

The sum of all this is that Paul loved the Romans and had a deep and abiding affection for them. He appreciated them for who they were, for the gifts that God had given them. He truly treated them as brothers and sisters in the Lord. He prayed for them and thought about how he could help them. He knew that they could be a benefit to him and he knew that his faith would be encouraged by his seeing them. If we that those attitudes toward other believers our fellowship would be greatly enhanced. If we're to grow as a church, this is the kind of fellowship that we need.

There's one further point we should note from our text. It's the fact that

Paul wanted to visit the Roman Christians to do these things.

In verse 10 he told them that he prayed that at last God would permit the way for him to visit them would be opened. In verse 11 he told them that he longed to see them. In verse 13 he had planned to come see them many times.

Paul knew that from a distance he could be a blessing to them in certain ways. He could pray for them. He could send them greetings and a letter. But Paul knew that in order to be a blessing to the Roman Christians in the ways he was describing in this section—he had to see them!

Again this is important. In our society church attendance, which is necessary for Christian fellowship is looked on something that is dispensable. Many professing Christians attend church only sporadically. And they don't see anything wrong with it. I've already quoted from Hebrews 10 which says that we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. If you're not in church just about every Sunday you need to take a look at your priorities because I would say it's almost guaranteed that they're askew. If you're going to impart some spiritual gift to other Christians—you need to meet with them. If you're going to encourage them in the faith and make them strong—you need to meet with them. If you're going to benefit from them—you need to meet with them. It's that simple.

Lastly, for those of you who are not Christians, what this means for you is that

you're in a desperate situation.

Christians aren't giving thanks to God for your faith. Your faith is not being reported all over the world. You don't have faith. There's nothing to thank God for there.

Doesn't that speak to your heart? Doesn't that show you that you need to change?

No doubt there are many Christians praying for you, that you not be lost forever, that you come to faith in Christ. Go to Jesus now. Then there will be rejoicing among the angels in heaven, and rejoicing among those who are praying for you. Go to Jesus—the only One who can save you.